Jelly Roll Brings His 14-Year-Old Daughter, Bailee, Onstage to Sing [Watch]
Jelly Roll had two special guests on stage with him at a recent show in Houston. His wife, Bunnie DeFord, and his daughter, Bailee Ann, made appearances before Bailee and Dad sang a song together.
The two did a duet of "Tears Could Talk," and Jelly Roll (real name Jason DeFord) was sure to give his daughter the spotlight when it was her turn to sing. He walked to the side of the stage while she sang and gazed at her like any proud father would.
After her verse, the pair joined together with their arms around one another at center stage for another round of the chorus. Jelly Roll grabbed Bailee's hand and walked her down the stage steps closer to the crowd of 16,000 cheering fans.
The duo stood with their arms raised together as they closed out the song.
It was a homecoming of sorts for Mr. Roll's wife Bunny, who was born in Houston. After not seeing his family for more than a month, the country rapper wanted to mark their reunion by bringing them on stage.
"If y’all don’t mind, I’m about to do something different from anything I’ve done on this whole tour. Is that okay with y’all?” he asked the crowd. “You see, I’ve been gone from home for like 35 days today. And the most important people in my life. I miss them — my wife and my daughter.”
Jelly Roll says Bailee is responsible for changing his life. After being in and out of prison for years, he says everything changed when he found out he was going to be a father in 2008.
"She’s now 14, and I knew I had to change my life," he said on Audacy's podcast, I'm Listening. “I started selling CDs out of the trunk of my car and T-shirts and throwing local concerts and doing anything I could to not revert back to a life of crime to provide for her."